The Philadelphia Daily News (Paul Vigna) reports: Empty seats have been a chronic problem for the Sixers even before Allen Iverson left town. Now, even off last season’s playoff run and the offseason signing of Elton Brand, those low numbers are creeping back into the picture. Through four games, the Sixers are averaging 12,601 in attendance, ranking them 28th out of 30 NBA teams. That they started by losing five of their first seven hasn’t helped. Neither did that shadow the size of Yao Ming cast by the Phillies and their world championship.
Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog
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Lousy Iverson shooting stands out
Allen Iverson has made a career out of being a big-time scorer (27.7 points per game).
But he’s also always shot a low field goal percentage (career 42.6% and a lousy 31.4% three-pointers).
Typically, when a team shoots under 43% for a game, they tend to lose.
Now, Iverson does make up at least partially for his low shooting percentages by drawing so much defensive attention that opportunities get created for teammates that don’t necesarily show up on a stat-sheet, but still, ideally he’d have taken fewer shots per game over his career and hit around 5-7% more of them.
Last night, the Pistons edged the Warriors 107-102, and Iverson’s vast talents were on display as he scored 23 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished an impressive 9 assists. But he shot 8-for-23. The team won in spite of his shooting, not because of it.
When his career eventually winds down, “The Answer” will be known as an awesome offensive force, a super-quick, ultra-tough little scoring guard, but also as a player who took a lot of shots and missed too high a percentage of them.
Nov 12: Sixers 106, Raptors 96
The AP reports: Elton Brand scored a season-high 25 points, Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala each had 18, and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors 106-96 on Wednesday night. Willie Green scored 17 points and Marreese Speights had 12 for the 76ers, who won for the first time in four road games this season… Chris Bosh had 30 points and 12 rebounds, but Toronto still lost for the fourth time in five games after starting the season 3-0. Jermaine O’Neal added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and reserve Andrea Bargnani scored 15 for the Raptors.
Nov 11: Jazz 93, Sixers 80
The AP reports: Deron Williams played for the first time this season to lead the Utah Jazz past the Philadelphia 76ers 93-80 on Tuesday night. He had seven points and nine assists after missing the first six games because of a sprained left ankle he suffered in a preseason game Oct. 18 against Chicago… Carlos Boozer led Utah with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer added 16 points apiece for the Jazz, who improved to 6-1 and lead the Northwest Division. Brewer scored all of his point in the fourth quarter after missing his first nine shots… Andre Miller scored 25 points, Andre Iguodala had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Elton Brand added 13 for the reeling Sixers, who lost their third in a row and fell to 2-5… Samuel Dalembert and Thaddeus Young each added 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who shot just 38 percent from the field.
Sixers still adjusting to Elton Brand
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports: The Sixers are going back to basics: working on their spacing around power forward Elton Brand. Yesterday was the last of three days of practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before tonight’s 7 o’clock game against the Utah Jazz (5-1). The Sixers (2-4) haven’t played since a Thursday night loss at the Orlando Magic. “With Elton, we need to read and react,” coach Maurice Cheeks said. “Certainly, the last few days we’ve been practicing that.” “It’s different playing with a post player who commands attention,” said swingman Andre Iguodala, whose scoring average has dipped to 11.0 points per game, down from last season’s 19.9 average. “It’s everyone who is adjusting, not just me.”
Nov 6: Magic 98, Sixers 88
The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis scored 20 points apiece and the Orlando Magic overcame Dwight Howard’s foul trouble to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-88 on Thursday night. With All-Star center Howard limited to only four minutes in the first half, the Magic got strong performances from Tony Battie and Lewis, who picked up the rebounding slack as Orlando won its third straight game. Thaddeus Young scored 19 points for Philadelphia, which placed four players in double figures. The Sixers cut a 23-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter but couldn’t draw closer… Jameer Nelson had a season-high 16 points for Orlando, and Howard scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Magic shot 45.1%, the Sixers just 37.9%. The Magic also got double the free throw attempts, though bricked a lot from the line. The Magic only committed 10 turnovers. Nelson had 16 points and 9 assists. Dalembert had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Elton Brand had just 6 points on bad shooting, and 12 rebounds. Iguodala had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists, but 5 turnovers.
Nov 5: Heat 106, Sixers 83
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, rookie Mario Chalmers set a franchise record with nine steals, and the Heat scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to pull away and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-83 on Wednesday night—giving Miami its first 2-0 home start since 2004… Wade added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Michael Beasley finished with 17 points, and Shawn Marion—playing with a hard plastic mask to protect a broken nose—added 12 points and seven rebounds for Miami (2-2). Yakhouba Diawara scored 11 points and Udonis Haslem added 10 for the Heat. Thaddeus Young scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter for Philadelphia, which got 16 points from Louis Williams and a 12-point, 12-rebound night from Elton Brand. Andre Miller finished with 11 points and six assists for the 76ers (2-3), while Andre Iguodala was held to only two points.
Nov 3: Sixers 125, Kings 91
The AP reports: Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall have to hope the way they almost flawlessly buried all those open looks earns them a second look at a bigger role in the rotation. Thaddeus Young scored 18 points, Lou Williams had 17 and the 76ers led by as many as 40 points in a 125-91 rout of the winless Sacramento Kings on Monday night… Marshall and Rush went a combined 6-for-7 from 3-point range and each played their season-high in minutes, even though most of their playing time came when the game was put away… Willie Green scored 16 points and Elton Brand had 15 for the Sixers, who were up 20 points at halftime and were able to stretch the lead in the second half instead of blowing it like they did Saturday at Atlanta… Jason Thompson scored 17 points and Spencer Hawes had 15 for the Kings (0-4), who can’t wait to head home after a dreary season-opening road trip.
Nov 1: Hawks 95, Sixers 88
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 35 points, including a long 3-pointer that clinched it with 11 seconds remaining, and the Hawks rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Philadelphia 76ers 95-88 Saturday night. The Hawks improved to 2-0 in their home opener, the team’s best start in a decade… The 76ers outhustled the Hawks, building a 20-8 rebounding edge at one point, and Atlanta couldn’t make anything. Starting forwards Smith and Marvin Williams combined to go 0-for-11 over the first two quarters… Mike Bibby added 19 points for the Hawks, and Zaza Pachulia came off the bench to add some much-needed defensive toughness. The burly center picked off eight rebounds in 21 minutes… Young led the 76ers with 22 points, but only five came after halftime. All five Philadelphia starters scored in double figures, including Elton Brand with 17 points and Iguodala with 16. Brand also had 16 rebounds.
Dalembert not himself yet
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports: Through two games, Samuel Dalembert has looked slightly … off. He has rebounded very well (12.5 average), scored decently (8.5 average), but struggled with some close-range shots. Remember, Sam missed a decent amount of the preseason with a knee sprain. Said Dalembert: “I’m not quite back. The [knee] is uncomfortable still. I’m not quite myself. I’ve been missing a lot of stuff I usually don’t miss. I’m catching the ball and just something is off, not quite on balance. It’s all part of it, and as games go by and I keep playing more, it will get better. I’m one little bit away from a big game.”